Luka (Voyno-Yasenetsky) is remembered in medicine for work that altered practice rather than merely argument.
The record lists Luka (Voyno-Yasenetsky) as Russian saint and surgeon (1877-1961).
Luka (Voyno-Yasenetsky) was born at Kerch in 1877. His recorded nationality is Russia. He trained at Faculty of Law of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
Anaesthesia, antisepsis and germ theory arrived within fifty years and made modern surgery possible for the first time.
The recorded fields of work are purulent surgery and anaesthesiology.
Most medical progress is invisible: it shows up as an illness that no longer kills anyone.
Recognition followed: Stalin Prize, Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" and State Stalin Prize, 1st degree.
That the work was done from Russia matters: hospitals, training and research funding are unevenly distributed, and they decide which questions can be asked.
Luka (Voyno-Yasenetsky) died in 1961, aged 84. What survives is the change in practice, which is how a medical life is actually measured.
Achievements
- Stalin Prize
- Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
- State Stalin Prize, 1st degree
- Fields: purulent surgery and anaesthesiology
